


Detention at Thra High

by BaronVonChop



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Detention, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, and so is aughra, aughra has to try so hard to pretend not to notice they are talking, the skeksis and mystics are teachers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 14:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20677193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronVonChop/pseuds/BaronVonChop
Summary: What landed these Gelfling in detention?





	Detention at Thra High

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my wonderful beta readers for assistance! Any remaining mistakes are my own.

The classroom door opened. "In case you don't know me, I'm Aughra," Aughra said as she bustled into the room and went to the teacher's desk at the front. "Welcome to detention! I don't enjoy spending my time here, either, so let's make this easier on each other, shall we? You lot," she jabbed a finger forward, then swept it around in an arc to indicate the Gelfling seated at their desks, "just sit there, keep your noses in your books, and stay quiet. Easy enough, hmm? I'll be up here, enjoying some fine literature." She took a rolled-up glossy gossip magazine from her back pocket. "Don't interrupt my reading, and I won't interrupt the rest of your week with further detention! Any questions? No? Good! Now let's get to it." She sagged into the chair at the front of the room, which squealed and groaned ominously. She opened the magazine with a decisive snap and held it up in front of her face.

Sitting near the center of the room was a Gelfling with brown-and-green hair, wearing a black T-shirt with a metal band logo and black jeans. He did homework for a few minutes, then checked to see if Aughra was watching. She still had her nose buried in her magazine, so he leaned over toward the pale, dark-eyed girl next to him. "You're the new girl, right?" he murmured.

"That's right! I'm Deet," she said, her voice chipper. She wore an oversized knitted sweater with her thumbs through holes in the sleeves and leggings under shorts.

"Ssh! I'm Rian."

"Nice to meet you, Rian!" Deet replied, her voice only a little quieter.

Rian put his finger to his lips. "Keep it down! Or Mother Aughra will hear."

Aughra turned the page with a loud rustle.

Deet giggled, then whispered back, "Okay! Sorry!"

"This must be your first time in detention," Rian said, his voice rich with amusement. "Are you actually enjoying this?"

"Yeah! I've had a lot of new experiences since coming here." Deet looked around the room, observing how the other Gelfling slouched in their chairs. She adjusted her posture to be a bit looser.

Rian chuckled. "I'll bet." He thought for a second. "So, you've only been here, what, a week? I can't imagine what you did to land yourself in detention already! I mean, I know why I'm here. I was in the library with Gurjin." He nodded at a Gelfling with dreadlocks and a greenish tint to his skin, who was seated in the seat in front of Rian's. He wore a hoodie and cargo pants. Gurjin turned and gave a broad smile and a jaunty wave to Deet, who smiled back. Rian continued, smiling as well, "The Scroll-Keeper caught us making a few improvements to the history books."

Deet tilted her head. "I like how you come up with funny nicknames for your teachers! The Scroll-Keeper didn't like your improvements?"

Rian chuckled. "His version of events is so made-up already, I don't know why he objected to us adding a few more things!"

Gurjin propped his elbow on his desk and so that he could lean back, hiding his face behind his arm. "Maybe he was jealous that our version is better!"

"You have a point there," Rian said. "Our version has a lot more action!"

"Bravo!" Deet exclaimed. Rian and Gurjin gasped and looked toward Aughra, who just happened to be clearing her throat at that moment.

"And I know why Brea is here," Rian continued, pointing to the desk on the other side of Deet's.

The pale Gelfling with her white hair in braids turned her chair ever-so-slightly in their direction. "I can tell my own story, thank you very much," she said, straightening her anime sweater with mock gravity.

"It's a good one," Rian stage-whispered to Deet.

"Thank you," Brea replied, nodding graciously.

"What did you do?" Deet asked, ears swinging forward to catch the story.

"We were in gym class with the General," Brea began. Her eyes flicked over to Aughra, who was intently gnawing a hangnail. Brea scooted her chair a little closer to Deet's. "He was giving my sisters and me a hard time about climbing a rope."

The Gelfling girl behind Brea, who had similar white hair and long cheekbones, scoffed. "I don't see the point of learning to climb ropes when I have wings!" She pointed behind her, where her cardigan was cut to allow her wings to poke through.

"You're no fun, Seladon," said a third white-haired Gelfling with her hair in two braids. "Personally, I just thought it was dumb that he insisted that we climb using the same method."

Rian's eyes widened. "Wait, I didn't hear this part before! Which method was that, Tavra?"

Tavra blew out a breath. "He said we had to climb using both our arms and our legs. I could have climbed all the way to the top using just these." She rolled up the sleeve on her flannel shirt and flexed a bicep, and Deet gasped appreciatively.

Brea continued the story. "So I just suggested that perhaps the General would like to climb one of the ropes himself, to show us how it's done."

Rian shook his head. "I wish I could have been there to see his face."

Brea looked up at the ceiling while a smile spread across her face at the memory. "He yelled so loud, I thought his beak would fly off!"

The Gelfling all laughed at that, then remembered themselves and turned to look at Aughra with guilty looks. Fortunately, she had dropped her magazine and was crouched down behind her desk, mumbling and huffing as she retrieved it. She got back into her chair with a grunt and a sigh, glanced over the Gelfling, who were all suddenly studying ostentatiously, and resumed her reading.

Rian glanced up with only his eyes, then raised his head when he saw that Aughra was once again hidden behind her magazine. He lifted his textbook and propped it open on his desk to screen him from her line of sight and turned to Deet. "You remember the foodfight in the cafeteria today."

Deet's quiet voice took on a tone of reverence. "Of course! It was amazing."

Rian nodded toward a brown-skinned Gelfling with black hair who was wearing a brightly patterned button-up shirt and orange corduroy pants. "Kylan started it."

Kylan leaned back in his chair, raised his arms, and laced his fingers together behind his head. "And let me tell you," he said, "that plan was weeks in the making."

"And her?" Deet asked, pointing to the Gelfling beside Kylan. She had the same green skin and dreadlocks as Gurjin, but she wore a letterman's jacket and faded jeans torn across the knees.

"Naia?" Rian asked. "How can I put it…"

Naia spoke up, "Kylan may have started the food fight," she paused to clap a hand on his shoulder, "and props for that, it takes real talent to start a top-tier food fight… but, well, I won it."

Kylan winked. "I don't think the Gourmand will be serving string beans in the lunchroom again anytime soon!"

Deet clapped both her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter. She looked over at Aughra, noticing that she had laid her head down on her desk behind her magazine, and she was breathing slowly and steadily.

Rian turned back to Deet. "So what I'd like to know is, what are you in here for?"

Deet paused for a second, fidgeting the frayed edges of her sleeves. "Fighting," she said at last. Rian's mouth dropped. Deet added quickly, "But it wasn't my fault! Some other Gelfling were making fun of me for where I'm from."

"So you fought them?" Rian asked, his voice hushed with disbelief.

"Well… not exactly… I mean, I was there, so I took some of the blame, but…" Deet turned and looked at the back row of chairs. Everyone else turned, too, and saw a Podling sitting alone. He wore a black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and had his army boots up on the desk in front of them.

Seeing them all looking at him, the Podling took a butterfly knife out of his pocket. He spun it open with a series of flourishes, drawing gasps from the Gelfling. When the Podling caught the handle again with a decisive click, they all saw that, where they had expected a blade, there was a spoon.

"Hup!" said Hup.


End file.
